Tom Kerridge's Blackberry and Almond Tart
This is a gorgeous tart combining fresh blackberries and blackberry jam with a light almond pastry, perfect for finishing off a Sunday lunch. It’s comfort food but without being heavy.
Ingredients
Pastry
Filling
To serve
Method
Step 1
First make the pastry. Gently beat the butter and caster sugar together in a bowl until combined. Add the eggs, ground almonds and plain flour and mix until a soft dough forms. Shape the dough into a ball, tip it out onto a wrap then flatten it out into a disc and close the wrap around it. Place the dough in the fridge for 1-2 hours while it firms up.
Step 2
Have a loose-based 24cm fluted tart tin to hand. Once the pastry dough has firmed up, take it out of the fridge and unwrap. Lay a large sheet of baking paper onto the kitchen surface. Dust it liberally with flour and place the dough on top. Dust the top of the dough with flour, place another sheet of baking paper over the top and roll out the dough until it’s 3-5mm thick.
Step 3
Peel the top sheet of baking paper away from the dough, carefully flip the dough over and lay it over your tart tin. Remove the remaining baking paper then, working quickly, press the pastry into the base and sides of the tin. Place the pastry-lined tart tin in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to firm up.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 160C fan.
Step 5
Place an oven tray into the oven to heat up. This will help to cook the base of your pastry case.
Step 6
Meanwhile start making the tart filling. Beat the butter and caster sugar together in a bowl with electric beaters until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, beating after each addition. Next add the ground almonds, plain flour, lemon zest and almond extract and mix again until well combined.
Step 7
Now, remove the tart case from the fridge and run your rolling pin firmly over the rim of the tart tin to trim the pastry. Pull away any excess pastry. Begin filling the pastry case by spooning the jam in and spreading it in an even layer on the bottom of the pastry case. Carefully spoon the filling mixture on top and level it out with the back of a spoon or a palette knife. Next push the blackberries into the almond mixture and finally sprinkle the top with almonds.
Step 8
Place the tart on the hot oven tray on the middle shelf of the oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly. When it’s cool enough to handle, carefully remove the tart from the tin, slice and serve with some crème fraiche.
Tom's Tip
Always allow pastry dough time to rest in the fridge before rolling. This allows the gluten to relax and the pastry to chill. It will hold its shape better and produce a melt-in-the-mouth texture when cooked.
